RWBY: Free the Sky
by Dappere
Summary: Orphans, outcasts and rebels. The crew of Beacon are an odd bunch, but they are a family. Keep flying, that's all they want and it's not much, but it is enough. RWBY takes on the galaxy in this Firefly inspired FanFic. Shiny. (Ended/Abandoned)
1. Episode 1: Beacon

**Episode 1: Beacon**

Ruby ran towards the cockpit, her heavy combat boots clanging against the metal fore passage of the ship. She hurriedly reloaded her rifle, pulling free the empty clip and discarding it lazily on the floor. The doors of the cockpit slid open, the familiar hiss alerting the pilot who sat with feet up on the main dashboard. "Ruby, back so soon, uh what's with the gun?"

"Jaune start the engines, get us off of the planet now", Jaune obeyed quickly, flicking a series of switches causing the engine to give a soft hum.

"Uh, ladies and gentlemen this is your pilot speaking, we are making a quick departure, so strap in."

"Jaune could you go a bit faster," Ruby's anxious tone revealing her nerves, "Please?"

"I'm going as fast as this thing can go, you were the one who bought an older model, these things aren't so good for the quick takeoff."

"I thought you were the one who had an appreciation for the classics?" Ruby retorted,

"Well, yeah, I mean this ship is a classic, but why do we have to get out of here so quickly anyway?" Jaune's hands moved deftly across the control board, the ship shuddering as it lifted off the ground. "Thought this was supposed to be a nice easy pick up."

"Yeah it was, but Yang kinda knew the guy, and they might have parted on bad terms. Something about a bar fight, and um, things escalated from there." Ruby turned as the doors hissed open behind her, Pyrrha stepping inside. "Everything's on board Captain, Juniors boys are trying to shoot us down though,"

"Don't you worry honey, I got this under control I doubt there little peashooters could even hit us when I'm behind the wheel." As Jaune finished his boasting the ship shot into the sky, leaving a cloud of dust in its wake. Jaune turned and smiled confidently at Pyrrha, his smile turning to a look of shock as the ship shook violently. "What was that!" Ruby cried out as she sat down in the co-pilot seat, Jaune looked worriedly at a display panel,

"looks like they have a little more than peashooters, they hit the right engine, we are losing dust quickly, must have hit a fuel line."

"I'm heading down there, Jaune get us off this rock and head for Atlas."

"Atlas! You crazy? That's the last place we wanna be heading with our 'special' cargo," Jaune's words were lost on Ruby, as she had already raced out of the cockpit. He looked confused, turning to Pyrrha for answers as she took Ruby's place in the co-pilot seat. "We need to find a doctor for Yang, she took a bad hit in the fight." Pyrrha looked worried, her voice only just holding up. Jaune sighed, "Don't worry about a thing honey, I will get us there in record time." Jaune smiled reassuringly at his wife, who managed to return the smile with less confidence.

* * *

Ruby bolted down the tight halls of her ship. She raced past the infirmary, only managing to glance inside to see Blake trying to stop the bleeding of Yang's wound. She pushed forward, determined to get Yang to a doctor. Finding a proper surgeon in the outer colonies would take too much time, it would be cheaper and attract less risk, but Yang would not be able to hold out for so long. Part of the risk of the current job was that the pick-up zone was on a planet not far from the edge of Confederate space. While all space was technically policed by the Confederation, the Feds only cared enough to heavily patrol the most valuable planets. The outer colonies were left to their own devices, as long as they paid whatever tribute was requested by the Confederates.

Ruby moved towards the end of the ship, climbing up into the inner workings of the propulsion systems. She crawled around, moving closer to the right engine of the ship. She could hear the damaged engine whine in complaint as Jaune throttled the ship towards atmosphere. She set about reconfiguring the fuel distribution, changing the flow of Dust as to prevent any going through the damaged fuel line. The output power of the engine would suffer, but at least they would have enough fuel to make it to Atlas. Hopefully it didn't impact the time it would take to get there by too much, for Yang's sake.

* * *

"Ruby we are about to leave atmosphere, are we good to go?" Jaune leaning into the microphone that sent his message out over the ships comm system. It took a few seconds but eventual Ruby responded, "All good down here... Just get us to Atlas as fast as you can." Jaune adjusted his loose fitting Hawaiian shirt, hand resting over the FTL controls. The stars came into view as they left the planet's surface, "twenty seconds until we are out of the planets orbit," Pyrrha sounding off and preparing for the jump. Jaune counted down in his head, waiting eagerly to punch it.

"We are clear", Jaune nodded and slammed down the throttle, the stars flashing brightly as the ship entered faster than light travel. Jaune felt the familiar feeling of FTL travel, the dizziness and slight nausea as his stomach did a quick flip. Just as quickly as the stars had disappeared, so did they return. Now however the view was dominated by a large planet, the lights of the cities visible from space, and the traffic of ships in orbit signified this planet as Atlas. "Jaune, I'm going to go down and help out Ruby and Yang. Can you get us down safely?"

"Psssh no problems, done it a million times." Pyrrha just smiled in response, grasping his hand reassuringly as she left. Jaune returned his focus to the planet, he was not the worst pilot ever, but he hated navigating the busy traffic and stupid laws of landing on such a heavily populated and regulated planets as Atlas.

* * *

Ruby hovered over the unconscious body of her sister. The small infirmary was crowded with the three of them, Blake, Pyrrha and Ruby all looking over Yang. They had almost got out of there without a scratch. Yang had been the first to react, she had recognised Junior a few seconds before he recognised her, so in classic Yang fashion she had shot first.

The fire fight had only lasted a few seconds, with Ruby and Pyrrha managing to get the cargo as Yang unleashed hell with her shotgun. It might not have been the best idea for Yang to instantly start shooting, Ruby would have liked to at least try and reason with them. However she had to trust Yang's intuition, it had gotten them out if a few tight places, even if her promiscuity had gotten into more tight spots. "I don't think we should move her, she might have some internal bleeding or something. I will try to keep her stable, you go and find a doctor." Ruby nodded, Blake was no doctor herself, but she knew a lot more than the rest of them. Ruby gave Blake a pat on the back as she left the infirmary, she was very close with Yang, and if she didn't make it, it would crush her. It would also crush Ruby, she had lost too many people, she could not lose Yang.

"Alright folks we are landing. Oh and it's raining, so, yeah, take an umbrella." Jaune's voice sounded over the Comms, his voice echoing in the quiet ship. Ruby sat on the stairs in the cargo bay, waiting for the doors to come down so she could go get Yang some help. She could hear someone walking along the ramparts that overlooked the cargo bay, "do you want me to come with you?" Pyrrha asked as she approached Ruby. Ruby just shook her head,

"You should contact Ren and tell him the delivery will be slightly late." Pyrrha nodded and trudged away, leaving Ruby to her thoughts.

The doors opened soon after, the sound and smell of rain filling the cargo bay. Ruby put on her coat, the dark red trench coat filling Ruby with confidence and determination. She raced out into the night, pushing through the small crowd of people making their way through the docking area. She ran past the various makeshift stalls that still ran into the night, the smell of exotic foods tempting her, but she remained focused and kept running for a medical facility. The main docks of Atlas were an interesting place, the only area where any poverty could be seen, the only area that didn't feel like a perfectly sterilised hospital.

Ruby eventual found a small clinic, it didn't look like much but it was the best that she could probably afford. She burst through the doors, head frantically searching for someone to help her. Eventually a receptionist appeared, "Hey I need a doctor my sister got shot and she need help!"

"Slow down honey, where's your sister?"

"Back on my ship, she needs help quick"

"I'm sorry dear but the only doctor on shift at the moment is out on a house call, he should be back soon though," Ruby slammed the receptionists desk in anger. She turned away from the stunned receptionist, sprinting out the door. There had to be another clinic somewhere. She ran through the doors, not seeing the person trying to get inside. They collided, both falling to the ground. "Watch where you're going you imbecile!" The White haired girl sat in the rain, her white suit soaked, blood streaming from her left eye. Ruby sprung up, "s-sorry I need to find my sister a doctor, if you're looking for one this clinic's doctor is out." With her words of courtesy done she pressed forward, running back into the rainy night. "Wait! I can help!" Ruby spun as the White haired girl ran over to her, "I'm a doctor take me to your sister and I can help." Ruby cocked her head in question, but took her hand and quickly pulled her along anyway.

Weiss followed the dark haired girl, constantly looking back to see if she had been followed. The cut over her eye burned like hell, she could feel the warm blood drip down her face as it was washed away by the rain. She looked again to see if they were followed, and this time saw a man in a white uniform. She sped up, now keeping pace with the girl in the maroon coat.

Ruby noticed the frantic look on the girls face, her constant checking behind them. They reached the ship, it's silver hull glistening in the rain, light trailing from the open cargo bay. Ruby pushed the girl inside, "the infirmary is down there, do what you can, I can deal with whoever is following you."

"H-how did you know?"

"I'm not blind; just go do your job."

Weiss stared at the strange girl as she moved towards the infirmary. She broke her stare and took in the sights of the ship as she ship was not the flashiest vessel she had ever been on, it looked dated and in need of a serious clean. She found the infirmary quickly, it was a very small room, but it looked in good repair and to be well stocked. Inside she found the patient, a striking girl with long blonde hair. Weiss did a quick inspection, finding the gunshot wound as well as a few fractured ribs. She set to work quickly, happy to have found something that could take her mind off of the events of the past few hours. Her hand traced along the newly forming scar over her left eye, "who are you?"

Weiss spun at the sound of the voice. A woman clad in black with long ebony hair strolled in, two cat ears on the top of her head.

Blake watched the short girl in white, she appeared skittish, and looked to have been wounded herself. "I-I'm a doctor, I was asked to take care of a girls sister," Blake studied her intensely, there was something familiar about her. "What's your name?" Blake asked,

"Weiss, now could I get back to helping this girl." Her tone returning to her usual commanding volume.

"Sorry for intruding," Blake's voice dripping with hostility and suspicion as she backed out of the room, certain to stay nearby. She sat in the small lounge area near the infirmary, her Faunus hearing trained on the Weiss, hand lazily resting on her pistol. She heard the sound of footsteps and turned towards Pyrrha as she entered the room. "Who's the doctor?"

"Don't know, she says her name is Weiss, and that Ruby asked her to take care of Yang,"

"Don't trust her?" Pyrrha raising her eyebrow inquisitively.

"Not sure, but if Ruby hired her than I'm sure she's alright. I can't help but get an odd feeling around her, as if I have seen her somewhere before."

"Keep an eye out, I'll find the captain,"

"She's in the cargo bay, sounds like we might have trouble," Pyrrha mover her head around, trying to pick up any sounds of fighting. She looked confusingly at Blake, who just pointed to her cat ears. She nodded and ran towards the cargo bay quickly.

* * *

"How can I help you gentlemen this evening?" Ruby stood with her hands clasped behind her back, rocking slowly on the heels of her feet. The two men stepped towards the ship, getting out of the rain. They wore white suits like the doctor she had just pulled inside, these men however appeared to be armed. "Move aside Miss we are after the woman you just brought in. Don't make this difficult, we work for her father and he is worried about her."

"Does he now? No worries then, I will go grab her in a second, she just has some work to do." One of the suits sighed,

"Sorry Mam but we are in a hurry, we can compensate you for any work that was interrupted." The man made a step forward, only to be blocked by Ruby's significantly smaller form.

"I'm really sorry but you are going to have to wait," Ruby's voice changing from the cheerful girl into a colder, more intimidating woman. The man sighed again, reaching into his suit coat, for what Ruby could only assume was a pistol. She lunged, sending a knee into the man's gut, then sending her elbow smashing into the bridge of his nose. The second man pulled forth his gun but was too slow to fire as Ruby leapt onto him, sending both of them tumbling into the rain. Ruby quickly put weight on the man's arm, trying to keep the gun pinned away from her. She looked back in time to see the other man recover from her blows, now raising his pistol to fire at her. He wasn't able to pull the trigger as sparks flew from his hand, his gun sent spinning off into the night. Pyrrha stood on ramparts overlooking the cargo bay, rifle trained on the two men in white suits. "Need a hand their captain?"

"Good timing, but I think I had it somewhat under control." Pyrrha smirked as she turned to aim at the man underneath Ruby. Ruby looked down at him and gave a knowing look, he grunted and let go of his pistol, which Ruby took into her hand. "I'm really sorry about this you know, but my sister is real hurt and that lady said she was a doctor. My mother always said that the key to everything was patience, if you could have waited for the doctor lady then none of this would have happened."

"You're in a heap of trouble girl," the man grumbled from his position on the wet ground. Ruby simply smiled, toting her new pistol.

"I have been in trouble for a long time now."

* * *

Weiss finished her operation, the little shrapnel left in the wound now gone, and her other minor injuries tended too. A wave of exhaustion hit her as she realised she hadn't slept in the last twenty four hours. It had been a crazy twenty four hours, her father's outburst, her new scar, her escape. It had been taxing, and now that the adrenaline was gone, she needed to sleep. She quickly cleaned her own wound, the cut over her eye had stopped bleeding and she could not be bothered to place a patch over it for healing, she needed both her eyes right now. She moved out of the infirmary, looking for the girl with red tipped hair. She wandered around the quiet ship, the sound of rain against the hull providing an ambient soundtrack to her meandering. While her first impression of the ship had been that it was fairly run down, her second inspection revealed that while it was an older ship, it was also very personalised. Little signs of life where present everywhere, signs that the ship was more of a home than a transport.

She eventually made her way to what appeared to be a larger living area, complete with a small kitchen and large dining table. Her hands absently traced over the polished wood, she felt a series of etchings in the table, various graffiti having been carved into the table. Names, places, jokes, all across the tables surface. "Hey there, uh, can I help you?" The voice startled Weiss and she turned to see a man standing in the doorway, scratching at his unkempt blonde hair. "Are you a passenger, didn't know we were picking up those."

"Uh, no I am a doctor, I was asked to take care of the blonde woman downstairs."

"Ah cool, how is she by the way, going to make a full recovery?" The man eased up and waltzed over to the kitchen, grabbing what looked to be some sort of biscuit.

"Yes, her wounds were not too bad, although if she was left without medical attention for too long then the injury might have been fatal. It was a fairly simple operation however, she should be up and about in a few days." The blonde man nodded lazily, chewing loudly on the biscuit. "Would you mind taking me to the girl with the red tipped hair, she was the one who hired me."

"Ruhby, thahts her nambe," the man finished his biscuit, crumbs falling over his tacky Hawaiian shirt. "Oh, she and Pyrrha went out to take care of something, should be back soon." He wiped down his shirt and took a step closer to Weiss, who immediately took a defensive stance. He outstretched his arm, "the name's Jaune, I fly this thing."

"Pleasure to meet you, I'm Weiss," she said hesitantly as she slowly grasped his hand in a handshake.

"Well, you can relax here for a while, until the others get back, I'm sure they won't be long." With that Jaune strolled back to the cockpit, hands in the pockets of his baggy pants. Weiss watched him leave as she took a seat at the table, and waited for the others to return...

Weiss awoke suddenly as she was shaken lightly. Her eyes shot open and she stared into the silver eyes of Ruby. "Hey there sleepy head."

"O-oh, um, hi. Sorry, I was just a bit drowsy after the…" Ruby shrugged,

"Don't worry about it, least you could do is take a nap after helping Yang. Looks like she is good to go, Blake even admitted it was good work."

"Well, thanks, but it was no issue, I have seen my fair share of wounds before." Ruby raised an eyebrow at this,

"So you have seen a few gunshot wounds then, interesting." Ruby pulled up a chair and sat opposite Weiss, "How do you want to do payment, we don't have a lot of money but it might be enough to cover the job. Unless there was something else you needed." Weiss looked confused,

"Oh I don't need money, think of it as…charity?" she said weakly,

"Come on, I don't need any charity, and I would feel bad if you didn't get duly compensated." Weiss thought for a moment, she had plenty of money, heiress to one of the galaxies largest drug companies. Maybe she did need it though, she had run away from home, it was unlikely that she would be able to access any of her accounts. More than anything though, Weiss needed distance, her father would send more men, and she had no plans on going back. "Wait a second, what happened to the men that were following me?"

"Oh them, they had a bit of an accident, they won't be troubling you,"

"You killed them!"

"Hey hold on there, I didn't kill them. Just you now, knocked them out, uh, tied them up and left them in an alleyway dumpster." Ruby smiled sheepishly, hand rubbing the back of her neck.

"Oh, well then… I guess they won't be troubling me."

"Why were they after you anyway, they didn't look like Feds so I doubt your some kind of mass murderer or anything. You're not right?"

"No! I haven't killed anyone! How could you think that?" Ruby raised her hands defensively,

"Just making sure. Back to business though, as I said we have a little money we can pay you. Other than that I'm not sure, unless you needed a lift anywhere." Weiss mulled it over, they seemed like nice enough people, well, aside from the Faunus. "Actually, now that you mention it, I am in need of a transport."

"Brilliant, if you have anything to pick up might want to make it quick, we have a tight schedule."

"I don't, just show me to my quarters and I will stay out of your hair." Ruby shifted her chair back under the table, and gestured towards the guest quarters.

* * *

Two hours later the ship took off, leaving behind the big city world of Atlas. Ruby had gathered the crew in the dining area, all taking up their usual seat, this time with the edition of Weiss. "Everyone, by now I'm sure you have met Weiss. However if you haven't, this here is Weiss, she's the doctor that fixed up Yang and as payment we are giving her a ride."

"Where are we taking her?" Blake's inquisitive stare focused on the white haired girl. Ruby slightly quizzical as to the Faunus' obvious mistrust of the girl.

"Well, not quite sure, haven't bothered to ask."

"And pray tell why you have not asked?" Blake's glare now focusing on Ruby.

"Haven't seen the need to." Ruby matching Blake's glare, with a look that said, _this is my ship_. "Now back to business." Ruby's demeanour returning to its usual cheerfulness, "We are dropping over to Sanders, Ren's waiting for his supplies."

"You mean the ones we took off that arms dealer, boy that guy turned out to be a world of trouble," Jaune chimed in looking around expectantly at everyone, trying to inject some humour into the room. Instead he got a soft punch on the arm by Pyrrha, and the collective glare of annoyance from Ruby and Blake. Jaune looked to Pyrrha, who nodded in Weiss' direction. "Oh! I mean, yeah the, uh, food… dealer man… for the hungry people of Sanders." Ruby rested her forehead on her palm, sighing as she did so. Weiss did likewise, "what kind of ship am I on?"

"Beacon is a bit of a, transport, occasional smuggling, kind of ship." Ruby muttered very quietly,

"Beacon?"

"Every ship has a name Weiss." Weiss shrugged in response, Ruby clapping her hand together to refocus everyone. "Ren's going to join us too, said he has done all he can for Sanders. So from there we are heading over to Vale, got word that a few jobs might be available for folks like us. Weiss if you need anything feel free to ask anyone for help. With that all said and done, I'm going to get some shut eye."

Everyone dispersed all heading either to their bunks or to do some job or another. They were a strange bunch, that was clear in Weiss' mind, possibly even a dangerous bunch, but for the moment she was happy to be on board.


	2. Episode 2: Grimm

**Episode 2: Grimm**

"You guys seriously eat this?" Weiss said as she lifted the dripping slop with her spoon. Everyone else was busy shovelling the strange porridge like food into their mouths. Pyrrha was the first to clear her throat and respond, "We don't have a lot of fresh produce on the ship. This stuff is mostly protein with a few spices here and there; it's not too bad though." Weiss grimaced as she took a bite, suspecting a bitter taste. Instead it tasted a sweet, as if garnished slightly with honey, and it had similar texture to porridge. She chewed slowly, everyone slowing to watch her reaction. She gulped down the food and nodded thoughtfully, "not anywhere near as bad as I thought." Her response eliciting a series of smiles around the table.

"How long till we reach Sanders?" Ruby looking to Jaune for an answer. He finished his mouthful and wiped his mouth on his sleeve, "sixteen or so hours, we have one more jump to make. Do you know if they have any repair stations down on Sanders? We could be making better time but with that broken fuel line we are adding a few hours to any trip."

"I doubt it, haven't heard much from Ren but it sounds like a very basic border colony." Pyrrha chimed in next to Jaune, grabbing a few empty bowls as she left the table. "Guess we will have to wait until Vale for any repairs. Should have enough for them though if Ren comes through with the payment," Ruby said before also rising to take her empty plate in,

"Is Weiss stepping off at Sanders?" Blake finally speaking up. Her eyes never left Ruby, totally ignoring the white haired girl. Weiss went to speak but was interrupted by Ruby, "didn't you hear Pyrrha, sounds a tad less civilised than what Weiss would be comfortable with."

"So where is she getting off?" Blake now looking accusingly at Weiss. Once again before Weiss could answer she was cut off, this time by the sounds of plates clattering loudly against the sink. Everyone looked to Ruby who stood over the sink with staring daggers at Blake. "Hey Blake how about you and I go deliver some of this to Yang. I imagine being shot like that builds ones appetite."

For a moment Blake just stared back silently, then she slowly rose up and filled an empty plate. She left the room, Ruby following a few steps behind, silence having fallen on the rest of the table.

Ruby and Blake made their way down to the infirmary, no words were spoken, no glances exchanged. They reached Yang, who was still a bit drowsy, but happily accepted the food. "You guys alright, your not looking at each other, and are both doin' the whole grumpy face thing." Yang said as her eyes quickly jumped back and forth between them. Blake grumbled something underneath her breath, to which Ruby only seemed to frown more at. Yang cleared her throat to grab their attention, "Usually I would leave the room and let you guys talk it out, but, you know, not really feelin' like movin'." Blake stormed out of the room at this, Ruby grumbling and following behind her. Yang just sighed as she started eating.

"Blake! What is going on, what's with all the bitchiness?!" Ruby not being able to hold it in any more. Blake spun in response, frown firmly etched on her face,

"What is with you and just letting that girl ride around for free?!"

"It's not free, she patched up Yang and this is her payment!" Ruby crossing her arms,

"But she isn't going anywhere, she is just tagging along! We don't know who she is, I mean you dragged her off the streets while she was being chased! Ruby I think she is a threat to the ship."

"Speak up then, what's the problem," Ruby wheezing in frustration.

"I think she is the daughter, the heiress, of the Schnee's."

"You mean the drug company?"

"Yeah, the one that did all those experiments on Faunus patients."

Ruby sighed, rubbing her forehead in a look of irritation, "So this is all just a personal grudge thing, well you are gonna have to get over it."

"It's not that! I have dealt with the Schnee's in the past, back when I ran with Adam. They are bad news Ruby, her being here paints a target on all of us. So we should just drop her off and distance ourselves."

"We are not doing that. So what if she has a bad history, so what if it comes after us. I didn't turn you away, when you came from a group of fairly unsavoury characters that maybe wanted to hunt you down. Sound familiar?" Ruby's face softened, her voice returning to her normal volume. "Blake, this ship, it's our little slice of freedom. I don't turn away those who need it, and from what I have seen, Weiss needs a little freedom. Plus, with our luck I think a doctor may come in handy." Ruby leaned forward and hugged Blake, "So please, play nice." With that Ruby skipped back down the hallway. Blake just shook her head, that girl was a mystery, cold captain one minute and cheerful friend the next. She would play nice, for Ruby's sake alone.

Weiss leant back against the cold steal of the wall, taking in the conversation she had just overheard. They knew who she was, it didn't come as a surprise that they would figure it out, she had just wished it hadn't been so soon. Blake had only voiced Weiss' own fears, she didn't want her troubles chasing this crew. They were good people, well, maybe not 'good', but they were not necessarily bad people. The only thing that gave her stop, was that Ruby had defended her. A woman she had met only a day ago, sounded as if she trusted her completely, and was willing to fight for her.

Weiss turned to leave and return to her quarters when she heard the soft sound of music. It sounded like it was coming from the cockpit, and so Weiss followed the sound. She walked past the crew quarters and stepped up into the cockpit, where Jaune sat with feet up on the control panels, strumming a guitar softly. Pyrrha laid back in the co-pilot's seat, eyes closed and listening to Jaune playing. Weiss just sat in the entrance, listening to the song. After a second Jaune noticed her and jumped a little, missing a chord. Pyrrha's eyes opened and both stared at her, Weiss took a step a back and apologised, "Oh, sorry for interrupting. I was just… I heard it down the hall and came to see what was happening."

Jaune sat up and took his feet off the console, brushing down the area where his feet where. Pyrrha too sat up straighter. "Oh, no worries, sorry about that, we just had some down time. Ship does most of the work on the long runs."

"We just like being up here to watch the stars, and too keep an eye on things, just in case." Pyrrha smiling in a friendly manner. Weiss returned the smile, although hers was the well-practiced smile of a child who grew up in the limelight. Pyrrha didn't notice the insincerity, and Weiss didn't mean it in any negative way, it was just reflex. "Soooo," Jaune interrupting the slightly awkward silence, "any idea where you want to get off. Vale is a pretty nice place, nothing like Atlas of course, but its plenty more civilized than Sanders." Pyrrha shot Jaune a glare, which Jaune remained completely oblivious too.

"I'm not sure, to be entirely honest I just want distance from Atlas," Weiss responding honestly,

"Why is that?" Jaune missing another, harsher glare, from Pyrrha. Weiss sighed, resting against the wall, "I just want something new. Get away from a lot of bad memories."

"Well sounds like you will fit in perfectly here. Everyone here is all, secret pasts and badass stories." Jaune finished with a chipper smile.

"And it's their business if they want to talk about them," Pyrrha hastily interrupting Jaune before he went any further. "But as he was saying, I do believe you will fit in fine here. If I know the captain I believe she may be offering you a place here, as long as you need it."

"That's very kind of her, but why? I'm just some stray she picked up," Weiss shuffling awkwardly at the kind words. Pyrhha smiled and laid a hand on her shoulder, "That's how we all started, and look at us now."

"Yeah we eat grey slop and play guitar poorly." Jaune smiling from his seat, taking Pyrrha's other hand in his. Weiss cringed slightly at the display, not comfortable with overly affectionate, or even just physical, displays.

"Well, yes then. I'm going to go back to my room." Weiss shuffling out of the room as she spoke. Jaune and Pyrrha smiled and continued their oddly affectionate display. They made an odd couple by Weiss' estimations, Pyrrha seemed to be Ruby's second, a confident and intimidating woman. Jaune on the other hand was arguably the most socially awkward person Weiss had ever met. Well, maybe socially awkward was not the exact term, but he did need to learn some tact.

Weiss was intercepted on her way down to her quarters. Ruby came strutting down the hallway. Her face lit up as she looked to Weiss, "hey there, everything okay?"

"Yes, I was just making my way back to my quarters." Weiss and Ruby now having stopped in the hallway, both in each other's way. They both made moves to get past the other, each time bumping into each other awkwardly. Eventually Weiss pushed past, not a fan of the pedantic dodging. Having taken three steps away from Ruby she heard her voice again, "Oh, Weiss, wait up." Ruby bounding over to be in front of Weiss again, "Yang said she was feeling better, she's pretty set on getting back to more 'active' duty."

"And?" Weiss said as she continued trying to get past Ruby, who was now keeping pace in front of Weiss by walking backwards.

"Well I was just wondering if you could do a quick check up to see if she is good to go." Ruby titling her head in question, Weiss just sighed and stopped.

"Alright I can do that. Let's get it out of the way." With that Ruby dragged Weiss down towards the infirmary.

Yang stood on the far side of the room, lazily poking and scratching at her bandages. Weiss sighed as she approached, "Please stop that, I would rather not have to redo all the stitching and bandaging."

"Oh, sorry 'bout that. These things are just so damn itchy."

"Anyway, how do you feel? Anything besides itchiness?"

"I'm a little stiff, but aside from that I think I'm pretty shiny." Yang finishing with a surprised jolt as Weiss ran her hands around the wound, her cold fingers inspecting the wound closely. "Careful there Ice Queen, Ruby might get jealous," she sneered as Weiss scowled at her. Ruby stood up straight from her position, leaning on the door frame of the infirmary. "Get your mind out of the gutter Yang," Ruby using her most commanding voice.

"I don't think it's my mind that's in the gutter sis. I mean sure she is cute, but if Blake is right about her, and she's not paying…" Yang looking accusingly at Ruby, who in return crossed her arms,

"We have worked that out, and she's here because we owe her for you needing a fix up." Weiss stood up at this her arms flexed by her sides, fists clenched in annoyance, "You know I'm right here!" Both Ruby and Yang raised their arms defensively and took a step back. Weiss turned to face Yang, "You should be fine to go back to doing… What exactly do you do for the ship?"

"She gets shot a lot," Ruby chiming in from behind Weiss. Yang feigned offence,

"I do a lot more than that, I happen to be quite the people person," yang raising her chin in an effort to look more respectable. Weiss just raised an eyebrow at the blonde, "I'm sure you are," affecting her most sarcastic tone, before strutting out of the room. Ruby chuckled as she watched Weiss go, following behind her after poking her tongue at Yang.

"Your still following me?" Weiss hearing Ruby's footsteps behind her,

"Just wanted to ask if you wanted to head out when we hit planet side?"

"I doubt there is much to see so I will likely stay in my quarters." Weiss now having reached the sliding door of her room. She opened and closed it quickly, managing to just stop Ruby from casually following her inside. Ruby stopped abruptly as the door slammed shut, "Oh, ok I will leave you to, uh sleep, or whatever."

* * *

"Ladies and Gentlemen, well, just ladies. We are about two minutes away from making landfall." Jaune spoke into the mike attached to his command console, careful not to lose focus on his flying. He heard Ruby talking to Yang as she moved into the cockpit, "Go get Blake, you might need a hand with all the cargo, Ren will need help distributing it as well."

"Aw but that's so boring,"

"It's the job, and please no shooting people this time Yang. I would hate to put us into more debt to Weiss."

"Sure you wouldn't," Yang's tone betraying her obvious suspicions.

"It's not like that at all, and I'm already tired of all the jokes and accusations. So unless you really want to clean the bathrooms for the next week then stop."

"Aren't I the older sister, shouldn't I be the one ordering you around?"

"Hahaha, no offence Yang but you're not quite captain material. You knew what you signed up for."

"Yeah, yeah, couldn't just let my little sister wander about the verse' all alone," Yang smirking with confidence. Ruby smiled to herself, she knew Yang wasn't lying, she was very protective. Thankfully she also listened to Ruby, which made her a perfect bodyguard. The two walked into the cargo bay, where Pyrrha and Blake were shuffling around the cargo. The ship jolted ever so slightly and the soft hum of the engines was silenced.

"Alright, let's get these into town quickly. We may be in the middle of nowhere but you never know when the Feds could come knocking," Pyrrha nodded and directed Yang to a few crates. Ruby moved to the weapons locker and grabbed her compactable rifle, her favourite and most cherished possession. The gun originally had belonged to her mother, she having used it in the war. Back then it was just a simple rifle, now after years of tinkering it was a whole lot more than a simple scoped rifle. The gun was Ruby's first foray into mechanics, now she knew enough to keep Beacon in good repair, well as good repair as was possible on limited funds.

She donned her jacket and walked out into the harsh sun of Sanders, a rocky, sandy and windy moon. She directed her crew as they made their way to the town, the occupant's moving hesitantly towards the ship. "Hello everyone! I'm Ruby, we are here delivery some goods," Ruby shouted from a distance, the crowd standing at a safe distance. From the middle of the group burst forth a man in simple green clothes, "Ruby, good to see you." Ren stepped forward and the two embraced in a hug. He then turned towards the rest of the crew and gave a few waves and nods of greetings as they walked down from the ship laden with heavy crates. Yang spoke up before any more pleasantries could be exchanged, "hey can we move this along, would not mind putting this thing down."

Ren waved Yang towards the drop off point, the crowd slowly returning to their everyday lives at Ren's insistence. "What's going on around here, everyone seems just a tad too suspicious?" Ren helped the crew move the rest of the crates as he answered Ruby's question.

"A lot of bad luck out here, we have had several opportunistic people try and take advantage of these people. That's why this shipment is sadly necessary."

"How did you deal with them before?" Ruby genuinely curious, Ren just smile softly

"I simply read them some scripture and convinced them of the error of their ways."

"Sure thing preacher," Ruby chuckled to herself. Ren had always been something of a mystery, a man of God wandering the border planets doing what he could to help those who needed it. He had used Beacon for a few trips to and from before, so he was well known to the crew. She left Yang, Blake and Pyrrha to deal with the final crates. There was something about the settlement that sparked her curiosity. Ruby made her way through the town, taking stock of the small, barley populated town. She guessed there was room for something like four hundred people, yet she estimated that currently there was only around two hundred. Towns like these didn't waste time building pointless buildings, perhaps Ren had understated the troubles the town was dealing with.

"Ruby! We might have a problem!" Ruby spun, and saw Blake come running up the main street of the town. "What's going on?"

"We picked up a ship on the sensors, doesn't look good." Blake huffing slightly after her run,

"Feds?" Ruby asked as she moved towards the ship, Blake shook her head in response her expression darkening. Ruby pursed her lips, she didn't like what Blake was implying. Together they jogged back to the ship, ignoring the continued anxious gaze of the townspeople. The two bounded onto the steel ramp of the ship, getting a strange glance from Yang, Blake broke off to talk with her. Ruby ran on, climbing the staris towards the dining area. She nearly knocked over Weiss as she ran towards the cockpit. "Watch were you are going dolt!"

"Sorry, sorry." Ruby pressed forward, stepping past Weiss quickly,

"Hey, what's wrong? What's going on?" Weiss following Ruby towards the cockpit.

"Get to your room."

"What? Ruby, what's happened?" Weiss now visibly concerned,

"Weiss we have a serious problem, it would be better for you to go to your room." Ruby pressed forward, hearing no response from Weiss, except her continuing footsteps following her. Ruby stepped into the cockpit to see Jaune, Pyrrha and Ren crowded over an active screen on the command console. "What are we looking at," Ruby's voice serious, cold. They all turned, moving aside for Ruby to view the screen. The image was fuzzy, Ruby tried to tap the screen to clear the image, causing Jaune to shuffle uncomfortably in his seat, "Uh, we still need to fix that power issue with the long range sensors."

"Always something wrong," Pyrrha mumbling beside him. Ruby leaned forward, examining it closer. The readings made it out to be a ship, a little bigger than Beacon.

"What's wrong with it?"

"What do you mean?" Jaune moving closer to look at the screen with Ruby,

"Look at the emission readings, that thing is on its last legs." Ruby pointing to the relevant readings,

"Oh…Yeah that thing is barely functioning," Jaune rubbing his chin contemplatively. Ruby sighed and looked to Pyrrha, the two exchanging a grimace before Pyrrha left the cockpit. "Um, what's going on?" Jaune glancing between everyone in the cockpit. Ren cleared his throat before speaking up,

"I believe that the ship heading towards us is piloted by Grimm." Jaune's eyes widened looking stunned for a moment before turning to Ruby. Ruby nodded,

"get us out of here as quickly as possible."

"Grimm? You mean they are real?" Weiss now asserting herself in the conversation,

"Sadly they are, and we have picked up traces of this ship passing the planet several times. It's one of the reasons the cargo was ordered." Ren slowly moving towards the exit as he spoke, "Captain I need to go to the town and grab some things before we go."

"Hurry it up, we don't have a lot of time."

"Wait, they are real?! Seriously, and we are not helping the people in town?" Weiss looking at the screen, unable to understand the data. Ruby's tone remained cold, "We brought them a shipment of weapons, that's what was in the crates. Chances are the Grimm are just doing another pass, like the ones Ren said had been going on. Even if they do attack we don't have the room for many more people, and we don't have time to load them all. We have done all we can, so we leave." Ruby left the cockpit, leaving Weiss standing in shock. She watched Ruby go, slightly shocked by her sudden change in attitude. It didn't feel like the Ruby that had brought her on board or had defended her, but in the end Weiss didn't know her very well. Maybe this was the real Ruby.

* * *

Ren rushed back on board, a girl with orange hair trailing behind him. "Who's she?" Ruby overlooking the cargo bay, having waited for Ren to return. Ren looked up to the rampart where Ruby stood, "She is someone that needs to come with us, please I can explain."

"Whatever just get her inside," Ruby raised her comm, "Jaune lets burn some dust and get out of here."

"Aye aye captain," Jaune's voice coming through the personal comm system. The doors of the cargo bay shut and the ship jolted as Beacon shot into the sky.

"Captain, we need you up here," this time it was Pyrrha's voice that came over the comm. Ruby started moving towards the cockpit, memories still flashing through her mind. Grimm. She hated Grimm.

"What's the problem," Ruby asking as she stood over Jaune's shoulder. Jaune didn't look up, too focused on flying,

"It's not making a pass, it looks like it might be heading towards the town… But I might be wrong… Pyrrha just wanted to know if you wanted to do something, or if, we keep going."

Ruby looked to Pyrrha, Pyrrha meeting her gaze, obviously trying to read Ruby. Ruby froze, her mind fighting with itself. She closed her eyes, the fear creeping up her spine. "Sis, we need to help those people." Ruby opened her eyes and turned to see Yang, in full combat gear, her shotgun resting over her shoulder.

"I mean they do have weapons, and stuff, they might be fine," Jaune's voice noticeably shaky. Ruby clenched her fists, gritting her teeth.

"Ruby, we can help them," this time it was Blake who was speaking up, now standing behind Yang in the doorway of the cockpit.

Weiss watched them all, standing down the fore passage she watched as the group discussed what to do. Yang and Blake seemed to be trying to convince Ruby to help the town, Pyrrha seemed resolute on not disagreeing with Ruby. Jaune was being Jaune, and trying his best to stay out of danger. Ren walked up beside Weiss, she turned to greet him, "You must be Ren, I'm Weiss."

"Pleasure to meet you. What's going on?"

"Looks like the Grimm are going after the town, they are deciding on whether or not too help." Ren visibly straightened at this, "If they are going after the town, even with the weapons they will be no match."

"Why not? What are they? I only heard stories, but it was pretty outlandish stuff."

"Well by nature they are pretty 'outlandish', some say they are beasts, some say they are simply crazed men. What is true, is that they are savage like beasts, in the guise of men gone mad. They carve strange red lines into their bodies, wear bones. We don't know a lot about them, but they are dangerous."

"Well…" Weiss stunned by the information, she had spent her life thinking they were just a scary bedtime story. Out beyond the safety of the core planets, the universe was a scary place.

"Fly towards the ship." Ruby made her decision, her voice silencing all the others, the silence drawing Weiss' attention. Ruby just focused her eyes on the sensor screen.

"Uh, what! Fly at the ship! We don't even have weapons to fight back!" Jaune frantic, eyes slipping away from the command console to look at Ruby with wide eyes. "Jaune, do what I say," Ruby stared him down, her usually sweet face completely serious.

"Do it Jaune," Pyrrha giving him a similar glance. Jaune sighed and spun the ship around, setting the ship on an intercept course with the Grimm ship.

"Jaune, lure that ship in, fly it over the mountains. Pull out all the tricks, let's see if we can't cause an accident."

"What do you want us to do?" Yang asked, her and Blake looking on intently.

"Get everyone down into the passenger quarters, if this goes wrong and we get boarded, keep them safe." Yang and Blake nodded and moved out of the cockpit.

Weiss stared at Ruby as she was escorted away by Yang and Blake. She saw the red haired girl's lips form a mischievous smirk. Ruby disappeared from view as Weiss felt Yang's strong arm pull her towards the guest quarters. She snapped out of her studying and kept pace with the others as they made their way through the ship. There was a seriousness about everyone know. Weiss could see it in the way they gripped their weapons a bit tighter, their minds desperately trying to focus on the present, and not think about what they were going up against. Weiss found it hard to empathise with them, she was still unable to believe that the Grimm were real. They had always been just another boogey man made to keep children in line. They were men sent insane by the darkness of space, they fed off negative emotions, they could smell fear. Or at least the stories said.

"Stay in your rooms, we will get you when we are in the clear." Yang's tone uncharacteristically serious.

"What if we don't 'get clear'," Weiss stopping in front of her door to ask her question, Yang turned with a face composed of fear and dark resolution, yet she tried to hide it under her usual bravado. "If we get boarded, we will try and fight them off. If that fails, start praying."

* * *

Ruby stood in between Pyrrha and Jaune's respective seats. Pyrrha had gone quiet, the way she usually did in times like this. Jaune on the other hand was chattering nervously, trying to keep his mind off what they were about to do. "There it is," Jaune's voice quiet and reserved,

"Good," Ruby's eyes focused on the Grimm ship. The ship's hull was burnt, the once silver hull now a charred black. Red paint, likely blood, traced lines across the ship, random pieces of other crafts welded on to patch damage, or to add makeshift weaponry. "Get as close as possible, try to pass over them."

"A-aye aye captain," Jaune still trying to hide his nervousness. Ruby studied the vessel, waiting to see if it would react to their presence. Jaune pushed the engines to max capacity as they got closer, everyone's stomach were in their throats as they shot past the Grimm. They passed within inches of each other, Jaune letting out a sigh of relief as he made the pass. "Captain, they are turning," Pyrrha's voice betraying no obvious emotion. Ruby gripped the back of Jaune's seat, "now it's time to fly."

* * *

Blake's hand became clammy as it tightly gripped her pistol. She looked to Yang, who held her shotgun in a similarly firm grasp. They exchanged a worried glance, both looking as if they were about to say something, but nothing came out. Blake had seen a darker side of the verse' than most people knew existed. She had seen and done things that would give anyone reason to fear and hate her. Yet like every sane person out in the border planets, she feared the Grimm. It was a bad way to die, tortured and abused to within an inch of your life, then eaten. "Don't worry, Ruby knows what she's doing. Even with Jaune piloting we will be fine," Yang saying to herself as much as to Blake.

"I hope so."

"Don't worry, Rubes and I have dealt with Grimm before, and we are still standing." Yang managing to pull off her usual overconfidence. Blake looked at her quizzically,

"What do you mean you have dealt with them before?"

Yang smiled forlornly, "ask Ruby about it, not my place to say." As she finished the ship jolted un-expectantly. "What the hell was that?"

* * *

"Jaune! I said left!" Ruby desperately trying to find her footing as the ship shot through the mountain range. Jaune spun the ship over the peaks of the mountains, ducking down behind them quickly to avoid the Grimm's weapon fire. "They are readying another set of harpoons, evasive manoeuvres!" Pyrrha calling out the enemy movements from her co-pilot station. Jaune did his best to dodge the harpoons, bringing the ship into a hard left bank. The first shot missed, the second scored a direct hit, the sound of tearing metal being heard throughout the ship. "Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit"

"Calm down Jaune, take us down, through the ravine." Ruby commanded him with an aura of confidence. "That's a tight squeeze! You sure!"

"Jaune just do it!" Pyrrha and Ruby said in synchronise. He just gulped in response, the ship descending quickly, "Captain, they are pulling us in," Pyrrha's voice still calm and collected. Ruby grit her teeth, praying that her plan wouldn't end in a fiery death for everyone. Beacon flew into the ravine, the walls growing closer as the descended further. The sound of tearing metal grew louder as the Grimm ship tried to stay above the ravine, the harpoon line growing taunt. Yet, slowly but surely it was dragged deeper into the ravine, the larger ship running out of room quickly.

Time slowed as they all held their breath, if this didn't work then they were dead. Ruby looked over to Pyrrha's console, watching the rear camera intently. The Grimm ship started to scrape against the walls of the ravine, at first only for a half second. Then it hit and outlying rock, sparks and scrap flying off from the ship. The line that connected the two ships strained, the Grimm ship now too large to fit through the ravine. The sides of their pursuer's ships exploded, the harpoon tore away from Beacon, a cloud of smoke and fire the only remains of the Grimm vessel. Jaune pulled the ship up quickly, just in time to avoid the slowly compacting ravine walls from destroying them as well.

Ruby let out a sigh of relief, patting Jaune on the back before slumping against the wall. Pyrrha smiled, her hand grasping Jaune's. He smiled, slightly bewildered by the chase. Ruby spoke over the comm's, alerting everyone to their success. She faintly heard Yang cheer.

* * *

Ruby sat alone in the dining area, only a dim lamp lighting the room. Everyone else was well and truly asleep by now. They had enjoyed a small celebration at dinner, Ren having brought fresh food on board they managed to make a decent meal. Much to Yang's enjoyment, he also managed to bring a few bottles of choice liquor on board, at the insistence of the townspeople. They had drunk to their victory over the Grimm, listened to Jaune's exaggerated tale of the heroics of the day. Then they had all retired to their quarters, exhausted after a particularly stressful day. Ruby couldn't sleep, never could after an encounter with Grimm. She looked fondly at the picture she held in her hand. The woman in the picture, had long hair, tipped with red like Ruby's. She wore a military uniform, small child in her arms.

"Who's that?" Ruby jumped slightly, looking for the source of the voice. Weiss stood in her suit, head cocked as she examined the picture. Ruby tucked it away quickly, "just a family picture." She tried to sound nonchalant, Weiss just shrugged, not wanting to pry. "Couldn't sleep?" Ruby asked, trying to divert the conversation elsewhere,

"Yeah, too much on my mind."

"Like what?"

"Well up until today I thought the Grimm were a myth. Up until today I had never been to a border planet."

"That's a lot of firsts."

"Yeah, been having a lot of those recently." Weiss took a seat, her eyes downcast, obviously in deep thought. Ruby smiled cheerfully, "well I'm happy I get to be here for all these 'firsts'." Weiss looked up, studying Ruby's face.

"You are a strange person, you know that."

"Strange?"

"Yes, every time I think I have you understood, you do something crazy. You can be harsh, yet the next minute you are cheerful and optimistic. You get scared, but next minute you look like you are having fun." Ruby just shrugged in response,

"You can't be serious all the time, especially not out here. Mum always said to try and find the silver lining, the ray of sunshine on the cloudy day. Doesn't mean you shouldn't be worry or be scared, you just need to be able to get past that. That's what this life is all about, getting past the bad stuff, the tough stuff, and being able to live."

"Your mother sounds like an interesting woman."

"She was, she really was." The two sat back, both sitting quietly with their thoughts. They didn't have much, just enough to keep them going. As long as they had that, they would keep moving forward.


	3. Episode 3: Heist part 1

Yang hit the punching bag, her blows hard and fast. Yang moved with incredible speed, ducking and jiving as if facing a real opponent. In her head she always ended up facing someone she had known, usually someone from her long list of ex partners. It wasn't that she hated them, but she certainly didn't like them. Especially Junior after the whole shooting incident, her anger causing her blows to become more ferocious. That's all she needed, a spark of aggression and in a second she was a blinding fury of punches. She would play out these imaginary fights in her head, always winning and beating back the bad guy.

She spent the better part of an hour this way. By the end of it she was panting, her hands sore and knuckles red. She grabbed her towel and wiped away the sweat that formed on her brow before heading towards the shower. "Hold up!" A voice called out from behind her, Yang turned to see Weiss running down the stairs into the cargo bay where she had set up her gym equipment. "What's up princess?"

"I will have none of that despicable nickname," Weiss said as she crossed her arms in defiance. Yang smirked,

"But you are kind of a princess, super prissy upper class heir to a fortune. Sounds like a princess to me."

"Prissy! The nerve of you, I will have you know that I am no such thing."

"Well you constantly wear a suit, that alone is pretty 'proper' of you. Don't even get me started on your attitude." Yang's grin growing wider as Weiss became more flustered and frustrated,

"I don't have any other clothes! Only this stupid suit I wore when I got on! And what about your attitude!" Weiss now leaning menacingly towards Yang, standing on her the tips of her toes in order to get closer to Yang's height. "Stop shouting, some of us are trying to read!" Yang and Weiss turning to see Blake's head drop down from an open panel in the roof of the cargo bay. As quickly as she had appeared, Blake ducked back into the crawlspace. Weiss raised an eyebrow quizzically, Yang just laughed, "She likes to read, and can really hates distractions so she hides up there to get away from all the ruckus."

"How odd,"

"Hey that's my Lady you're talking about!" Yang said jokingly, another voice chiming I yet again from above,

"No I'm not." Yang chuckled,

"Funny how she wants privacy, and yet she picks the perfect place where she can eavesdrop on everyone. So what were you after anyway?"

"Well I'm wondering if you could help me with something. I have decided that I will be staying on the ship for a while. Since you all have a predisposition for getting into trouble I might be more helpful if I could properly operate a firearm," Weiss standing resolute with her hands behind her back, like she was making a proposal to a committee. Yang looked confused, "You want me to teach you how to shoot?"

"Yes."

"Hahaha, next time how about you just ask," Yang patted Weiss on the shoulder as she left to go have her shower.

"I thought I did?" Weiss asked as Yang left.

* * *

"Extend your arm more, and calm your breathing," Yang paced around Weiss as she held the gun. The revolver was well designed, an ivory grip and a glinting silver barrel, nothing but the best for a member of the Schnee family. The gun had been acquisitioned by Ruby off of one the men that had pursued Weiss back on Atlas. "Good, you're a pretty quick learner. Now things are never so nice and easy when people are shooting at you, but if you can remain calm you should be alright."

"Well, thank you very much, you make a fairly good teacher, surprisingly."

"Surprisingly? I taught most people on this boat the finer points of hitting, shooting and stabbing things."

"Oh wow a true intellectual," Weiss pretending to swoon. Yang had her arms on her hips a stern look on her face. Ruby walked past the two of them, carrying her rifle, freshly polished. "Yeah that's Yang for you, gentlewoman and a scholar."

"Your God damn right!" Yang said as she flicked her hair dramatically. Weiss rolled her eyes, Ruby just laughed. "I think it might be time for you to get some new clothes as well Weiss. I don't think that you can keep waring that suit forever. No matter how much you wash it, it's really starting to smell." Yang beamed as Weiss glared at her.

"Oh well Vale should have everything you need. There are plenty of stores, we can pick some stuff up when we land." Ruby chiming in as she stored her rifle back in the weapons locker. Weiss pinched her brow, an exasperated look on her face, "Yes I suppose I will need some clothes. However I don't want to use any of my accounts, they might be traced."

"Pfft don't worry about it, I can cover that," Ruby waving her hand with indifference. Yang stood behind Weiss and gave Ruby a subtle wink before walking away. "Ruby I think you have given me enough charity, I really do hate imposing."

"Weiss, I'm not going to just buy you clothes, you're just gonna have to pay me back."

"I suppose I can deal with that," Weiss said indignantly. Ruby smirked as she patted Weiss on the shoulder,

"Not really giving you a choice, that suit is really starting to get old." Ruby walked off giggling as Weiss just gasped in frustration.

* * *

Blake leant against the wall of the cockpit, looking out over the bright cityscape. Neon signs blared advertisements on the giant skyscrapers. Small personal crafts ducked in between the huge steel towers. This was the closest thing the border planets had to anything resembling the metropolises of the core planets. While the core planets were pristine and well controlled, Vale was a vicious, near lawless city of sin. It was the closest thing Blake had ever had to a home, before Beacon that is. She remembered her days spent down in the under levels, a dark underground covered by the build-up of infrastructure. Days could be spent without seeing the sun, dodging gangs and hustlers and trying to find your next meal. The perfect place to recruit desperate Faunus and give them something to believe in.

She buried the memories quickly, taking her eyes away from the familiar sight. "Hey Jaune, where are we landing?"

"I was instructed to land in the northeast Hangar bay in the Eastern sector." Blake just nodded thoughtfully, trying to remember if she had any enemies that frequented the Eastern sector. She sighed deeply, Jaune noticing spoke up, "So this Torchwick guy, you say he has a job for us?"

"Yes, he sent out a message requesting me personally."

"So you know him then?"

"Yeah, sadly I do," Blake's voice growing deeper, filled with malice. Jaune winced, hearing the harsh changed in her voice.

"So he's not a nice guy then, I imagine the job will be interesting."

"I'm sure it will be, let's just hope the son of a bitch doesn't screw us over." Blake clenched her hands into fists, Torchwick was truly a despicable human being. He had used the White Fang, Blake's old gang, to perform countless jobs. At the time it all seemed harmless, it seemed like justice. Then everyone started changing, everything became more about violence and profit instead of equality and retribution. They were young, they were weak, and Torchwick had taken advantage of that. Yet here she was, bringing her new friends to see him. They needed the work, it would either leave them wealthy or very likely dead.

* * *

Ren heard the soft knocks coming from the door, the sound waking him from his idle daydreaming. "Come in," Ren spoke softly as to not wake the small figure who slept in the bed beside his chair. "Hey there, not interrupting anything am I," Ruby said as she cautiously entered the room, sliding the door shut behind her. Ren looked perplexed, "What would you be interrupting?"

"Well, uh, you know. Take a strange girl on board, hide her away from everyone… People are suspicious that our resident preacher is breaking one vow or another." Ruby cringed as she spoke, clearly uncomfortable talking about it. Ren just shook his head, a soft smile appearing as he did so, "No Ruby, I am not sleeping with this poor girl. Also my particular faith does let me marry so it's only a sin to commit… 'That' act out of wedlock."

"Soooo, your married to her?" Ruby asked sheepishly, Ren face palming in irritation.

"No, I'm not married to this girl; I am just trying to help her. I'm sorry for not telling you about it, it was hard to contact you from Sanders, and this is a newer development."

""Well then, at least you can still lord your moral superiority over all us-"

"Crooks, criminals, thieves, mercenary's. I could go on," Ren smiling slyly as he interrupted the captain. Ruby huffed and pouted,

"Yeah, yeah whatever. Back to the important question though, what's her deal?"

"She needs a place to hide, hopefully not for too long."

"What did she do?" Ruby glancing hesitantly over to the sleeping girl, "I don't like to house psychopaths,"

"No, no, she is innocent of any crimes. No, her problem is that there are certain powerful people after her; she has lived a hard life at their hands. A while ago she managed to escape a Confederate base; somehow she found her way to Sanders. They did things to her, changed her, I'm not sure how or why all I know is what they did to her was wrong. Her memories and thoughts are all muddled, she has the understanding and demeanour of a child, yet the strength of a bodybuilder and the skill of a highly trained soldier." Ren looked concerned as he explained, his eyes landing on the sleeping girls back. Ruby too ended up watching the sleeping girl, her curiosity only growing.

"So she needs to hide from the Feds."

"Yes."

"Well then, I will make sure everyone keeps it quiet. With all the people I seem to be picking up we have enough trouble looming over us. What's her name?"

"Penny, she goes by Penny."

* * *

"Alright, Weiss and Jaune you guys are on shopping duty. Blake, Pyrrha and Yang, you're with me. Ren's going to stay and watch over the ship. We should all be back here by around one pm Vale time." Ruby dished out the jobs quickly, giving Jaune a list of essential items to pick up, as well as handing Weiss some money to go clothes shopping. Blake, Pyrrha and Yang left to go retrieve their weapons. Ruby's morale sunk as she realised just how little they had left. The repair costs had taken a large sum of the ships funds, they really needed this job. Blake had warned Ruby, told her what kind of a guy she would be dealing with, and as much as Ruby didn't want to take the job, without it they would likely starve.

Ruby opened the cargo bay doors, beams of sunlight streaking inside the ship. She held her hand up to block the light as she walked out onto the docks. The feeling of sunlight on her skin after days spent in the dark expanse of space was comforting. It felt good, but it didn't reassure her. "Let's get moving, don't want to keep Torchwick waiting."

Blake nodded and followed behind Ruby and Pyrrha, the two having a fairly boring conversation about finances. Yang slowed down to walk beside her, she unlike the rest of them was completely carefree. "Why are you in such a good mood?"

"I dunno, feels good to be somewhere familiar. We haven't been to Vale in months."

"Wish I could say the same," Blake said under her breath. Yang looked down at her, concern written on her face.

"Ugh, I'm sorry, always forget you hate this place," Yang said as she rested her arm comfortingly on Blake's shoulder.

"It's not that I hate it, there are just a lot of bad memories."

"Do you reckon there is gonna be trouble with this Torchwick guy?"

"I assure you there will be trouble, the question is whether it's with Torchwick, or with what he's sending us after."

"Don't worry kitten, I'm locked and loaded if anything goes down."

* * *

"Uh do you guys have any titanium capacitors?" Jaune questioned the mechanic, going through the list of parts needed for the repairs. Weiss stood next to him, bored beyond belief. For the past few hours they had gone from mechanic to junkyard and back again trying to find all the parts for a reasonable price. "Yeah we have some in, gimme a sec and I will go grab it from out back," the mechanic disappearing into the back of the workshop. Jaune nodded and took a seat, Weiss sitting down next to him.

"Well this is mind numbingly tedious," Weiss crossing her arms and frowning.

"Welcome to my life. To be honest though after the Grimm chase and all that, I'm happy to be a little bored for a while." Jaune grinned as he laid back in the old chair, Weiss letting out a single chuckle. "It can't be that bad, you are married to one of the more beautiful women I have ever seen," Weiss giving Jaune a sly look. Jaune gave Weiss a similar look, "Yeah well she does make it that much more bearable."

"How did you meet her, better yet how did you end up flying Beacon?"

"Well long story short I actually used to be a Confederate pilot. At least that's what I trained to do, never did pass the final test."

"A Confederate pilot, and Ruby hired you? I get the feeling she's not really a fan of the 'Feds' as she puts it." Jaune laughed at this, nodding his head

"Yeah, there were some misgivings about that. Pyrrha stood up for me though, said she saw potential in me." Weiss hid a grin, by her estimations that was the only thing that Pyrrha could possibly see in him. Jaune didn't take notice and continued his story, "So she just showed up one day at this bar, I was there drinking away the sorrows of not passing again,"

"You mean failing," Weiss interjected.

"Some would call it that. Anyway we got to talking, and she just offered me the job. The rest is history."

"So Ruby and Pyrrha have been together for a while?"

"Yeah, they bought Beacon together. They have known each other the longest, since both their parents were involved in the war." Weiss nodded, that explained the military uniform that Ruby's mother wore in the picture. The uniform that was completed with the same dark red leather coat that Ruby wore. The red coat, the symbol of the Alliance of Independent Systems, the government that the Confederates had overthrown. The two sat in silence for the rest of the wait, Jaune caught up in memories and Weiss mulling over the new information surrounding Ruby. It explained a lot, her apparent dislike of the Confederates; it explained Pyrrha's loyalty to Ruby but it didn't reveal everything. Weiss still had questions about the strange girl who had taken her in.

* * *

The three women stood impatiently, all nervously checking that their weapons were still there. Ruby moved over to Blake, moving close to whisper quietly, "You sure this isn't a set up, we have been waiting here for a while."

"I can't tell, but we should be ready if it is. There are many reasons I can think that Torchwick may want me dead." As Blake finished, the doors leading into the 'office' where they were told to meet opened. A large man gestured for them to enter, and after sharing looks of concern they did. Pyrrha went first, making sure to survey the room quickly. Next came Yang, her hands tracing the sawed off shotgun she had holstered in her jacket. Finally Ruby and Blake stepped inside, greeted with the sight of what actually appeared to be a nice office space. Furnished with classically designed wooden furniture, art displayed on the walls, it seemed like the residence of a wealthy business man. The only thing the spoke contrary to this was the 'business man' in question. Torchwick sat at the desk, feet up and lying back in his chair. He lit his cigar and tipped his bowler hat as they entered.

"Welcome ladies, it's a pleasure to meet you all. Blake so good to see you again, I feared you would let our sorted past blind you to the brilliant opportunity I have set up."

"It very nearly did," Blake trying her best to hide any obvious emotion. Torchwick stood, taking a puff of his cigar as he walked over to Ruby and extended his hand. "Roman Torchwick, you must be the famous Ruby Rose," Torchwick giving her a wide, slightly off putting smile. Ruby reluctantly took his hand,

"I think I would have noticed being famous."

"Exactly, for the moment you are just another captain of a small crew on a barely functioning ship. After this job though, your name will be known throughout the stars, that and you will be a lot better off."

"Not really looking for fame, we will stick to fortune and anonymity," Ruby glaring suspiciously at the enthusiastic criminal. Torchwick nodded slowly, staring down Ruby,

"Well then we will just have to settle for my name being known across the stars. Enough idle chatter though, you in or not?"

"You still haven't told me what you want us for,"

"Well little red, I happen to be an entrepreneur dealing in various high end artworks, antiquities and the like. Word has travelled of a certain antiquity finding its way back into the limelight."

"Let me guess, you want someone to steal it for you," Blake said as she continued to hide her feelings. Torchwick grinned,

"Always were a perceptive one kitty cat, yeah I was wondering if you could assist me in acquiring this particular item." Yang moved closer to Blake, hand's clenched and anger brazenly showing on her face. "Don't call her that," she muttered through gritted teeth. Torchwick backed off slightly, eyeing up the blonde, eyes slowly resting on her chest, a sly smile forming across his face. "It's a gem, about the size of Blondie's chest," his comment only garnering further anger from Yang. "Before I give you any more info you gotta tell me whether you're in,"

"How much is our cut?"

"Thirty precent, comes out to around four hundred thousand Lien," Torchwick scanned the four girls for a reaction. Pyrrha spoke up now, pulling Yang back slightly as she stepped in front of Torchwick. "I'm very sorry, but sadly we can't do it for thirty precent, it's sadly not enough for our expertise."

"Well then. What about you," Torchwick pointing to Blake, "Yours is the expertise I'm after, thirty precent sound good to you?" Blake shrugged,

"It's up to my captain." She looked to Ruby for approval, Ruby obviously mulling it all over in her mind.

"Forty precent and we have a deal, and as I said, you don't mention us when word gets out you have it."

Torchwick clearly disliked the idea of paying them more, a sour look replacing his cheesy smile. "Fine, forty precent and I won't mention you guys if you don't mention me."

"Deal," Ruby now extended her hand, and Torchwick shook.

"I will send you guys the finer details, it's up to you to figure how to pull it off." Torchwick returned to sit as his desk as the four of them made moves to leave. "Keep in mind, I can't stop people talking if you guys get recognised."

"We won't," Blake having the last words as the group left.


End file.
